Photo Sess

We had a photo session before we left Taiwan in September and here are some of them:-

 Daddy is my best playing mate!

Kissy-Kissy 

 Poor sausage was completely zonked out after the photo shoot

But came alive again when we got home! 

Oh um daddy and mummy, why do you have to strip me naked? lol

Though it is so so so comfortable! 

The 11th Month

My gorgeous girl on a gorgeous English autumn day in Greenwich Park

Rayray is only a month shy of her FIRST birthday!!!! OMG OMG OMG! This can't be right, can it? Where has the time gone? 

We travelled back to London in the end of September and this time round, Rayray didn't sleep well in the plane as she was busy 'socialising' with people next/opposite us! Though it only took her around a week to adjust to the time difference as opposed to the long two weeks when we went to Taiwan in July. 

This month, baby indeed has been very very 'busy'! She doesn't stop moving when she is awake and I mean NON-STOP! She is either forever busy crawling around (she has mastered the skill and she now can crawl forward or backward with impressive speed! lol) or pulling herself up! She is fascinated with sockets and plugs just like every baby so the house is pretty much baby proofed now! She opens and closes wardrobes or cabinets, she is constantly on the missions of seeking new 'toys' to play with i.e. the ones mummy says NOOOOO to in particular! Oh, and not to mention that it is such a challenge to change her nappy now as she wriggles around. 

Watch where you are going!

Height - 77 cm 

Weight - 10.3kg 

Eating - Breastfed twice a day plus 3 solids meals. Yes I dropped her afternoon feed by chance and in hindsight I am glad I did as I knew I would just prolong it! I was rather 'thirsty' for some bubbles when I had lunch with friends on a weekend and so I decided to treat myself to a glass! T then suggested it might be a good opportunity to drop the mid afternoon feed and so I did! Now I offer Rayray a pot of yoghurt or fromage frais.  She has also decided that she didn't like breakfast cereals anymore a week ago and so it has been a struggle to get her to eat it since then. So I have been giving her variations, including scrambled eggs on toast, bircher muesli, pancakes with fruits, cheese scramble and french toast. Her appetite has also decreased noticeably but then I am not worried as it is normal after her growing spurt and it is not as if I need to worry about Rayray's weight!!!

T's very proud pancake v.s. AK's!

I have also stopped puree-ing her food as she actually prefers lumpy food now! It is soooo much easier not to puree food anymore! I either make her fresh food every meal or would just make 2 portions and freeze the remaining one and she either has it the following day or in a few days time and to be honest, I think freshly-cooked food tastes so much better and I can see Rayray turning into a bit of a connoisseur! lol

tucking into a strawberry

loves chewing her cutlery

Sleeping - After two weeks of showing Rayray how to lie down from standing up position in the cot, she has finally got it but I had to sleep train her again as she would cry after half an hour putting her down in the evening. I think it is because of all the travelling and jet lag and she forgot how to self sooth anymore. I didn't really let her cry in Taiwan as mum always gets upset when I did and she just couldn't bear hearing Rayray's crying.

My honey-bunny: just woke up from her nap

Development -

• Loves playing patty-cake i.e. clapping hands and waves bye-bye enthusiastically

  
  

  

  enjoys going to the supermarket with mummy

  
  
• Picks up tiny objects i.e. blueberries (one of her many favourite fruits) and peas with tips of thumb and forefingers and it is hilarious to see her doing that. I would love to post videos on here but ummm I have struggled to! Can anyone tell me how to do that from my iPhone?

• Stands alone momentarily and she looooves doing that!

She now yanks her hair clip out all the time!

• Apart from saying 'mama', 'dada', she now says 'baba', 'nana' and 'gaga'!

• Understands "NO" but always challenge my limit! hehehe and when she knows she is doing something naughty, she would always look at me first and see my reaction!

Oh hello there!

Her new bath seat and look at that signature smirk on her little face!

"Rolling" time after bath

My princess

I feel truly blessed to have such a little precious person in my life and there hasn't been a day she hasn't brought smile to my face. I can't wait for her first birthday as I know there will be more joy to come.

Rayray's progress:

9-10 months
8-9 months

7-8 months

6-7 months

5-6 months

4-5 months

3-4 months

2-3 months

1-2 months

0-1 month

The 10th Month

My little strawberry

Rayray got ill the the first time and it was so hard to see your child so unwell. On the way to Hong Kong, she started to have a slight cough on the plane and the cough worsen on the second day. My little poor dumpling didn't understand coughing and it really troubled her the first night so she didn't sleep well at all. The second night was really bad as she kept waking up every two hours from coughing and I just breastfed her to sooth her and I could tell she was so tired yet she was thirsty too. On the third day when we came back to Taipei, she started having phlegm so I took her to the doc's the next day. The doc showed me how to pat her shoulder blades to help her bring up the phlegm.

Height - 74 cm 

Weight - 10kg (At Last!!!!!)

Eating - Breastfed 3 times a day plus 3 solids meals. She still very much enjoys her food and knows when she doesn't like something i.e. papaya and kiwi (yes this is a weird one as she started off really loving golden kiwi but after having it for a few times, she now absolutely refuses to have it? Babies are funny little things!)

Holds her beaker well

Also, In the last couple of days, I can see Rayray's appetite has suddenly increased dramatically and she can't even wait till 8am for her brekkie!

'Where is my food????' protesting at a restaurant in HK

Sleeping - bedtime nightmare - yes another episode! Since Rayray can now pull herself up, all she wants to do when I put her down is to sit up then stand up!!! MN dropped at 9 months 3 weeks old as Raryay started to demonstrate EMW so I decided to see if dropping morning nap would help. It took her around three days to adjust her body clock and so how she sleeps till past 6 o'clock in the morning and sometimes till 6.45am if I am lucky! Though she has been struggling at lunchtime so had to move her lunch to 11.30am and she often falls asleep in the middle of it! However, she sleeps soundly for at least two hours and this allows me to have some 'me' time!

A cheeky monkey after her nap

Development -

• Started crawling forward!!!!! Pulls up to standing position from sitting
  
  
• Started cruising when holding onto something

• She can also crawl over pillows so I can't leave her on the bed with pillows around anymore...

• says mamamama rather often and again, it tends to happen when she is hungry so I am not sure if she knows what mama means? 

• loves kissing me on the lips! Very funny and where did she get that from?

• waves bye-bye

• Oh and her bottom two teeth have suddenly cut through!!! 

At Da An Park

On the swing

Another afternoon tea session with Bella and Susan

Babies checking each other out

Rayray now seems to be fascinated by other babies

I don't know when it started but she looooves crossing her fingers at meal time! I thought I had to share this photo!

Fingers crossed

Grumpy faced

After trialling at Gymboree, I thought I'd try My Gym too and oh boy, I can so see the difference and not only Rayray didn't seem to enjoy it (photos to follows as a proof! She didn't even crack a smile once for the entire time we were there) and trust me, she usually is a fairly happy smily baby.

On a slop

We tried putting Rayray on a slop at Gymboree too but I am not sure if it was the instructors at My Gym or the background music or what the actual reason was, Rayray didn't even seem comfortable sitting on it.

Coming down on a slide

An indoor swing

Trying to hold onto a bar

So this was what really upset me! Rayray couldn't really stand up at the time we were there but they insisted on putting Rayray on a high bar so we did as they kept emphasising on how well trained they were etc etc and I am sure they were but I am also pretty certain they didn't have any kids of their own! Rayray screamed and cried as all she was doing was using her little two wrists supporting her whole weight with someone else grabbing her!!!! Then the instructors had the cheek to tell me Rayray's hands were not strong enough and so she should definitely go there more often to practice more! Huh? 

Anyway, long story short, they called me afterwards asking how the class went I told them not good and again they insisted on everything was perfectly safe and kids just needed to get use to it. So I  pointed out that I didn't think getting a baby who can't even stand to be on the bar was a good idea. I asked the lady try to imagine herself holding onto a bar that was 3 meters high and her feet couldn't touch the ground and someone else was towering over her grabbing her two wrists! ummm she then went quiet and I hope she got the point!

So my verdict on My Gym? I won't be going back, certainly not till Rayray is older. I subsequently heard P complaining about a bad experience she has had with her kids too at My Gym....

Anyway,  I have discovered that Rayray likes 'reading' and I think she enjoys looking at pictures but also the actual 'turning pages' action! She loves bright colours and would spend ages looking at a page !

Hey mummy, I am reading

and I have to read first thing in the morning

I can't believe my honey bunny is now 10 months old! Mummy and daddy wish you staying a healthy happy bunny!

Rayray's progress:

8-9 months

7-8 months

6-7 months

5-6 months

4-5 months

3-4 months

2-3 months

1-2 months

0-1 month

Back to yoga mat, back to reality

Rayray is a week away turning 10 months old and I thought I ought to get my acts together or at least try to see if I could still do it. I went back to Bodhi Yoga  as I thoroughly enjoyed my prenatal yoga classes there and thought the teachers there were very helpful and insightful. I went for the led ashtanga class as I had not practiced in two years and just in case I couldn't make it through the entire class.

I liked Eason, today's instructor as he was very patient and explained different postures in great detail. Although it resulted that we only managed to Parivritta Parshvakonasana, it meant I could pace myself as I already sweated buckets after Surya Namaskara B!!!!!

We finished off the class by doing Urdhva Dhanurasana (The Bridge) and I struggled to stay in the posture for 5 breathes! Though I know I need to listen to my body as I could feel my back was obviously not flexible as I used to but practice makes perfect! I just wish mum could babysit more often so I could start practicing again!

I really enjoyed my 75 minutes on the mat today and namaste everyone!!!

The 9th Month

Our first playdate with Susan and Bella

This month has turned particularly quickly and I guess it was because of a lot of sleepless nights as well as some major developments in Rayray!

Rayray caught roseola at 8 months and 3 weeks. She started to have a temperature of 37.5 on Sunday, it rose up to 38.5 on Monday so I took her to the doctor's. Doc said to monitor her temperature for three days and my god, three days seemed eternal! Rayray was lethargic and whiny and it completely broke my heart. I guess I would whine if I had a temperature of 38.5 degrees for three days but it is so hard to see your child suffering. She would wake up every two hours grunting. I checked her temperature every 2-3 hours being a paranoid mum so I was knackered that week. Rayray's rash finally appeared on Thursday morning when temperature dropped but rose up to 38.5 again by lunchtime. So we rushed her to the hospital. The funny thing was that she almost came alive when she was seen by the doctor that's why the doctor commented on how well she looked and how energetic she was despite having a temperature! I reassured him that Rayray wasn't like that at all a minute ago! She just sat on T's lap and being examined by the doc quietly and giggled and smiled at him! lol Her temperature dropped gradually and it could be that we were at a hotpot restaurant for lunch and the external temperature caused it. She finally seemed to be back to herself on Sunday, exactly a week later and that must be the longest week in my life to date!

Poor love fell asleep during lunch and my heart was in pieces

Height - 71 cm 

Weight - 9.9 kg (still hasn't passed that 10 kg mark!) 

Eating - Breastfed 3 times a day plus 3 solids meals. Rayray now feeds 5 mins the most on each boob. I am now aiming to drop the afternoon feed as I am preparing to wean her off boobs when she is 12 months old.

She definitely takes after me in terms of loving fruits! She especially prefers chunks of fruit or fruit sticks. She would quite happily eat two thirds of a whole peach or nectarine and she absolutely loooooves watermelon just like T! She also loves pasta, be it baby pasta served in thick soup or various sauces or giant pasta to hold and chew! 

She has now had watermelon, melon, cherry, kiwi, papaya, mango, edamame beans, plum and tofu.

A bolo bun/pineapple bun that's bigger than Rayray's face

Sleeping - It took her exactly two weeks to adjust her jet lag this time round! It was a bit of a nightmare as my sleep-through-the-night-baby disappeared and would wake up at 4pm UK time (11pm in Taiwan), 7pm UK time (2am in Taiwan) and 11pm UK time (5am Taiwan time). I was so frustrated and angry with myself. I kept asking why I put myself and Rayray through this. I researched everywhere online and the only concrete tip I found was 'midday sun' from an Australian lady. The crazy temperature aside, it's Rayray's lunchtime and nap time so it means we couldn't try that. Whenever she woke up, I breastfed her as I was absolutely knackered and just didn't have the stamina settling her by going back and forth. After the first week, I tried giving her water when she woke up in the middle of the night but she wasn't interested so I thought maybe she has developed a habit of waking up for milk! Though by the end of the second week, she would only wake up once throughout the night so I wasn't so concerned. And just as I though I had my little contended baby back, Rayray was hit by a nasty virus and had Roseola. 

 My heart

Development - 

• Rayray has finally started crawling but she crawls backwards! It's hilarious to see her doing it as her little bottoms wiggle and wiggle!

• She has also mastered the art of sitting apart from being on her front just days before turning 9 months! 

• Has cut her two front bottom teeth!

• Loves 'talking' and I mean she loves babbling! She says dada, baba, mama and 'mama' in particular when she cries or when she is hungry!!! So she knows mama gives her food!!! She also says baba or dada when she is in a jolly mood! Honestly!!!

• Loves playing peekaboo

• We had our very first Gymboree session and thought it was fun. she really enjoyed herself the first half an hour. The assistant there was impressed that Rayray seemed comfortable in a new environment with new people around her and just got on with different toys! hahah

Fascinated with the new place!

She would 'examine' anything she could get hold of by 1) staring at it 2) give it a good shake 3) put it her mouth
The hot weather in Taiwan means I have not been able to take out everyday as we used to in London and I honestly think she gets terribly bored at home. She would play with her toys for a bit and then starts to seek attention whereas whenever we are out, she looks around and gets stimulated by things and people around her.

Stripped her naked to her nappy on only and the AC is on full blast!

It's amazing to see my baby turning into a little person who has proper three meals a day like adults and we can definitely see her personality coming through. In general, she is quite an easy, happy baby who smiles at just about anyone and doesn't mind strangers holding her. She doesn't scream when we take toys off from her as she would just move onto another one. She doesn't cry when we wake her up from her naps and is usually in a cheery mood every morning when she wakes up.

Smiling at the waitress at a cafe

It is such a wonderful experience to see your child grow everyday and I feel ever so lucky to have the luxury to spend time with her every single day and I do wake up every morning looking forward to my day with my bunny. I don't know how I would feel when I start working or when she starts the nursery! I think I would definitely be the one who cries!

Oh and I almost forget to post some of the photos at Joe's Studio we took before we left for London in April. I do like Joe's ideas and he is a very friendly chatting bloke but the downside is it took him TWO months to edit the photos! Not impressed...

Look at our little buddha! lol

Little Tootsie

Rayray's progress:

7-8 months

6-7 months

5-6 months

4-5 months

3-4 months

2-3 months

1-2 months

0-1 month

Facial Cleansers

I had been a loyal Benefit user for a number of years and I think it all started when I received a Bathina as a present along with some other Benefit products. I fell in love with the smell of Bathina instantly but never got round to use it for some reason. It is still in my cupboard as I love the tin and it reminds me of the good old days at Dali Universe! lol Oh and I have been using their Maybe Baby for so many years that I couldn't tell you how many bottles I got through so when they stopped selling them two years ago I was absolutely gutted! I wore it day in, day out! I must have stocked up 10 plus bottles! 

The old Bathina tin

Anyway, so I started using their skincare as I loved their packaging and the smell! I also like their sense of humour on how they name their each product! Very cleverly done!

Their facial wash 'You Clean Up Nice!' is good and does what it says, perfectly! My face always feels really clean after it and never feels stringent.

and here is another favourite of mine - makeup remover

I then started using Sisley products and thought I'd give their Phyto-Blanc cleanser a try as at a point I got relatively dark and I'd try anything to get my skin to a lighter shade. 

The verdict is that the foam is very very fine but I don't feel my face got any lighter nor does it justify the cost. It is not particularly expensive but to achieve what a box-standard cleanser does, I would much prefer my good old Liquid Neutrogena!

I bought this new baby at the airport on the way to Shanghai and I have to say I am pretty impressed with it. The foam is light and fine and the skin just feels really soft after using it! Another cheap and cheerful new found!!! I have yet to try their Immortelle products so this is the first one for me. Just on a separate note, I absolutely adore their Mum & Baby cleansing gel! I have tried various different baby shampoo/bath gel but this one seems to work the best on Rayray! For some bizzare reason, her hair gets all tangled up with other products apart from this one! Honestly, I have tried at least other 5 and only L'occitane doesn't give her 'vermacelli hair!' Plus I do love the smell!